Exploring the world within a 30 mile radius

Il Pranzo Italiano

My job is pretty quiet in the summer. With most of the students at home for their break, I have to bribe people to come visit – otherwise I stare at a computer for 8 hours straight. With college students, the best bribe of course is food, so I decided I would make lunch today for a few students who are working on campus this summer. To be honest, feeding them was totally selfish – I love having visitors, I have to eat too, and it gave me something fun to write about.

With Italy on the brain after reading all those postcards, I thought some “authentic” Italian cuisine might be fun. Our menu consisted of a caprese salad (I added mixed greens to make it more substantial), procuitto and melon, bread, roasted almonds, and watermelon granita. These probably aren’t the dishes that most people think of when it comes to Italian food, but they are some of my favorites. Plus, they don’t require a stove (which I don’t have in the office).

Of everything, I would definitely recommend trying the watermelon granita. It was easy, light, and almost as good as the ones I had in Italy.